Careers in Mathematics

Why Choose a Career in Mathematics?

A career in mathematics is a wise choice. The world is becoming increasingly quantitative. Mathematics plays a crucial role in deciding policies which affect our lives, policies ranging from health and the environment to multi-million dollar investments. Organizations are depending more and more on quantitative reasoning and complex mathematical models to solve their problems. A degree in mathematics will give you the skills you need to work on important, challenging real-world problems in a broad range of highly paid positions in business, industry, government and education.

With an undergraduate mathematics degree, you may for example:

develop new models for evaluating stock options and pricing derivatives,

help prepare the next generation for the analytically demanding world by teaching mathematics.

Many organizations seek mathematics majors, for example IBM, Microsoft, the U.S. Army, the National Security Agency, Philips Electronics, Lucent Technologies, AT&T, Silicon Graphics, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, NASA, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, the U.S. Navy, Eastman Kodak, Union Bank of Switzerland, Citicorp, the Vatican Observatory, and every school district in the U.S.

Career Profiles

A wide range of career options are available for the math major. The Mathematics Association of America sponsored interviews at http://www.maa.org/careers/index.html (October 1999) with people using mathematics in their careers. UNT faculty member Michael Monticino was also interviewed, see http://www.maa.org/careers/monticino.html These essays provide practical answers to the question: "Why should I study math?" Most of those profiled use mathematics on a daily basis; others rely on the general problem solving skills acquired in their mathematics courses.